Southern Delaware group provides cold weather shelter for women

‘It’s a tsunami of homelessness’

Delaware’s homelessness crisis is a “tsunami,” Martin said.

“It is a complete disaster, as far as the homelessness problem in Delaware, absolutely a complete disaster, and I’m on the front lines every day, and I see it. It’s a tsunami of homelessness right now,” he says. Delaware’s Continuum of Care found 1,255 people experiencing homelessness in its 2023 Point-In-Time report.

Martin has experienced homelessness himself, and said he empathizes with those striving to rebuild their lives. He calls it a humanitarian issue.

“I guess it’s gonna take people dying out here and freezing to death. I mean people have been dying out here, freezing to death, and it doesn’t seem to change anything,” he said. “Maybe that’s the big plan, that our people in charge of our country, is [for] the weak people to let them die.”

Without better support from the government, he said it’s the community’s responsibility to uplift each other.

“They’re still human beings. I mean dogs and cats, they find a place for them when it’s freezing outside, but human beings it’s like they don’t care about them, that’s really what’s happening,” he said. “We really have to come together. I’m just a little guy out here doing my best. I don’t have a social work degree. I used to be a carpenter. We need the professionals to step up, we need the elected leaders to step off and provide some guidance on all this and provide some places. We need emergency places set up.”

“I’m hoping that people that have larger facilities out there in Georgetown, if they could see our example of trying our best because we have the smallest place in the world,” he said.

He said people who want to help can keep a supply of “blessing bags” in their cars. He said the bags can be filled with vital supplies such as flashlights, batteries, toothpaste, and food to give to those who may be in need.